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Feeding Peas: A Photo Tutorial

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Peas are an excellent addition to your fish feeding diet and have been frequently recommended when you have fish that are getting a bit bloated from constipation. Peas are incredibly high in fiber.

I happen to use frozen peas, but you can do this with fresh or canned peas. (Mostly because I don't actually enjoy eating peas myself). I use a cappuccino mug for my pea-making that fairly accurately reflects my opinion of peas when I plan to serve them... but any bowl or mug will do.

Measure out a serving of peas suitable for your tank inhabitants and add just enough water to cover them at the bottom of your bowl.

Microwave them for 1 minute on high. Remove from the microwave and fill your bowl the rest of the way with cool water from the tap.

Drain off the water from the peas. (I just use my hand held lightly across the mouth of the mug.)

At this point you may have some peas that during cooking skinned themselves. If they haven't popped out of their fine skin, you will want to peel off that outer skin skin. Just use your fingernail to puncture the outer skin layer and with a gental squish the two halves of the pea should pop right out.

In this photo you can see some pea-innards at the top of the mug, with a pea skin slightly to the left above my remaining non-skinned peas.

Lastly you just smush that pea right between your thumb and index finger and drop it in the tank. Smushing makes them fall a bit slower so your top and mid level feeders can get at them more before they land on the substrate. It also makes it fairly simple for the smaller mouthed fish to take a bite out of a big pea. (Just pitch out or compost your pea skins.

As a final note, since peas are lighter in color, your fish poo will turn to be a bit pea-colored as well. That's perfectly normal.

Feeding the tanks peas is so much fun. The betta girls seems to get the most enjoyment out of them. Even my tiny Magnolia turns into a ravenous shark with her peas. She shakes them and carries them around the tank. We just giggle crazily at her.